1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an adjustable, portable and pivotal seat and stand assembly for one shooting firearms. More particularly, the invention is a pivotable and height adjustable seat and table rest for supporting a shooter whether seated or standing, during the process of shooting moving or still targets at great distances, wherein the legs of the seat and stand assembly are easily adjustable by the user when the seat and stand assembly is used on uneven terrain.
2. Background of the Invention
Seat and table rests and supports to stabilize a shooter when using a firearm, particularly a rifle, are known in the art. The shooter desires to be still and stable when sighting on a target, and at times the shooter may be located on an uneven terrain, which inhibits the desired stabilization.
One example of a prior seat and table rest assembly is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,641 to Vecqueray, which discloses a pivotally and vertically adjustable support surface and seat for supporting a shooter on the seat and a support surface configured to rotate in tandem with the seat about a vertical axis. While the Vecqueray device, in one embodiment, permits manual adjustment of its supporting legs, the adjustment mechanism disclosed in this reference, due to the inadequate distance between the pivot point of the legs and the leg adjusting screw, makes it very difficult to adjust the legs of the reference device to a desired position, particularly when the shooter is seated on the seat. Further, the assembly of the legs in the reference device does not allow the legs to be pivoted upward and together to allow greater portability of the support structure.
Another example of a portable shooting bench assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,984 to Dyer et al. This shooter's bench assembly has a plurality of telescoping tubes attached to flat support legs for adjustable ground support. The telescoping tubes are locked by cotter pins. However, the Dyer et al. device does not provide a leveling adjustment mechanism that is readily accessible to a shooter sitting on the bench, nor is easily and variably adjusted to any position depending on the variances in ground level.
In bench shooting, a user is seated or standing adjacent a table rest to fire successive rounds at either fixed or moving targets. These table rests are normally large metal frames or concrete benches to stabilize the shooter and the firearm.
When shooting at multiple moving targets, bench rests for stationary target shooting do not allow the shooter to reset or reaim the firearm in a different direction. Bench rests have been designed for use with multiple moving targets, some with fixed legs or supports that do not allow adjustment when the bench and stand assembly is placed on uneven ground. This results in the axis of rotation of the table and bench veering off the vertical, such that gravity forces compel the components to lean toward the lowest point of rotation, which causes the shooter to undesirably rotate away from the intended target.
Some rotatable shooter's bench and stand assemblies are available that provide adjustment of the position of the legs supporting the assembly. However, the mechanisms for achieving such adjustment on available devices require a substantial exertion of energy by the user to make the desired leg adjustment, and such mechanisms are usually inaccessible to a user seated on the bench and stand assembly.